Escape
by FictionalBoyz
Summary: Despite Sophie and the gang's efforts, the Neverseen have always been one step ahead of the Black Swan, and they never found the Neverseen's hideouts. The groups are now at war, and Callistra is stuck in the middle of it all. When she meets a member of the Neverseen that doesn't seem quite like the others, she realizes he may just be able to help her escape. T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello my fellow aspiring authors! A couple quick things to read before the story:**

 **1\. I have to put a disclaimer here, right? Okay, so I am not Shannon Messenger, and I do not own kotlc. All I own is a few hundred books in paperback.**

 **2\. If you notice any errors in my story, please tell me! I am having this beta'd by a writer friend of mine irl, but that doesn't mean we can't both miss something really important. I appreciate all criticism (with the exception of flames, which are useless because I'm not gonna cry in a hole if you hate my story).**

 **3\. The story is not in line with recent canon events.  
**

 **4\. I am not promising updates at specific times yet because I am a way slow writer, and I probably won't have a plan for this for a few chapters.**

 **Anyways, enjoy! Also, I'm sorry this is so long, I just couldn't get the words out of my head. I've been working on this one chapter for a while and I kept hitting blocks in my writing.**

* * *

3rd person Callistra's POV

Sunlight peeked through the dense greenery of the woods, tracing patterns on the undergrowth Callistra trod on. The crisp morning air felt so good in her lungs, and a gentle breeze swept past her, tickling her nose and turning her cheeks pink. The woods were an escape to her, and she always wanted to be out there as long as possible. It was really too bad she had to be training right then.

Callistra held her breath and listened, not daring to move an inch until she heard a twig snap behind her and spun around, hesitating for a split second then launching a kick in the direction of the sound. She could barely glimpse a figure clad in a black cloak in front of her before they took hold of her leg and flung it to her side. Quickly loosing her balance, she thrust her hands behind her and landed on the fallen leaves with a soft thud. She groaned, exhausted from the hours of training with no luck and spread her limbs and head on the forest floor, trying not to care that leaves and soil were probably gathering in her dark brown hair. She sighed, closing her eyes, but it was short lived because the next second she heard heavy footsteps to her left. Callistra flipped over and saw a pair of dark boots jogging towards her, then stopping by her torso. A hand was extended down to her and she took it and helped herself up.

"Honestly Callistra, how do you expect to make it into the elite force if you can't stop me from following you?" Arabella asked, taking off her thick hood and flipping her wavy blonde hair behind her back. Arabella had been Callistra's friend ever since she could remember, and now they were going through Neverseen training together, called initiation. Initiation was the training from age thirteen to sixteen, and at sixteen the new members were put into one of the different forces.

Callistra answered, "I can detect anyone behind me, you know that. I just need to work on actually fighting, and I'll make it into the elite force. You can count on it." Callistra said this with false conviction; She actually didn't even want to be in the elite force at all. The elite force was the group that went on any missions where combat was necessary, and the fact that she was too hesitant to throw even a small punch obviously meant she wasn't cut out for it. But of course her dad thought otherwise. When she was seven, her mom had been discovered as a double agent and was killed, and now her dad was pushing her to do anything but undercover work. Especially things like elite force. It was actually hard to be around her dad because all he wanted was for her not to turn out like her mother, and he didn't even know Callistra as a person.

"Hello? Earth to miss McKornum." Arabella waved her hand in front of Callistra's face, startling her out of her thoughts. "You looked like you were about to fall asleep standing up, it was weird. It's almost mealtime. We trained overtime, so we'll need to hurry to get to the cafeteria."

"Right," Callistra said, nodding. Arabella pulled a compass out of her thick black cloak and turned to her left.

"The compound is back that way. Let's go."

They ran in the direction of their home, their feet pounding on the dirt as they weaved between trees.

* * *

Callistra and Arabella burst through the double doors to find everybody already eating at tables. The gray mush that supposedly provided essential nutrients to people training to fight was in the process of being put away, and the color of the meals matched the drab interior of the cafeteria. They hurried over to the counter and quickly took their trays, one of the initiates in lunch detention saying, "You're way late! You almost lost your lunch. I'm putting away the forks now, I'm assuming you'll use spoons?"

"Yeah," Callistra answered, not looking up while she grabbed her spoon and a bowl full of the meal she had for lunch every day. This was the only meal they were nutritionally regulated on. Callistra didn't like the slop, but it gave her an unnatural amount of energy, which paid off during grueling training sessions. She and Arabella walked towards the tables, and Callistra could barely glimpse a couple of older members who were bullying a younger initiate. She averted her eyes, not wanting the image of that in her mind while she ate. Yes, she knew cruelty was essential to be good at fighting, but sometimes it just didn't feel right to inflict pain on the people on her side. Callistra looked over at Arabella. "So are you going to ability detecting this afternoon?"

"Um, duh? Look Callistra, it's none of your business if I don't want to be a Guster. You know that you can't do anything with an ability like mine, except maybe cheat at disk catchers." She added a flourish of wind that swooped up her spoon and let it fall and clatter on the plastic tray for effect. Callistra took in everything she was saying while watching an older girl at another table push a young girl away, yelling something inaudible at the girl.

"Fine, fine. It's just I think this might be the only ability you get, so why not perfect it?" Arabella snorted.

"Perfect the wind? Like that's going to make me good at combat. It's fight or flight, and I choose fight. The wind can stay the way it is for all I care."

Callistra opened her mouth to argue, but Arabella speed walked ahead of her and sat down at an open table with a finality that seemed to say, 'This subject is over.'

She stood in one spot, then started over to Arabella's table, but the cloaked body of what seemed to be another initiate her age bumped into her and her tray's contents were spilled all over the floor. Her water bottle was still closed, but the bowl and what was inside it lay splayed out on the gray tile. She guessed the person had already rudely walked away to continue their lunch, so she ducked down to clean up the remains of her meal before anyone saw, her short hair falling in her face. Callistra didn't reach the floor though because her head knocked into what she thought was another person's skull and she heard a voice exclaim, "Ow!"

She scooted back, holding her head and trying to ease the sharp pain. Callistra looked up to the figure in front of her and her midnight blue eyes met bright cerulean ones set into the pained expression of a boy who looked to be around her age.

"Sorry, I was just going to help pick up..." He gestured to the mess on the floor. "I should really watch where I'm going."

Callistra shook her head, not wanting the guy to feel bad. After all, he was being kinder than any of the other initiates. "No, I wasn't going to eat it anyways. It's- "

"Disgusting, I know. What are the leaders thinking?" Her lips turned upwards at this, and she saw his smile as well.

"Yeah. I've wondered that too." They both sat there in thought until Callistra pulled her head back to reality and realized they were sitting on the floor of the cafeteria next to her lunch. She leaned forwards and scraped the food onto her tray with her spoon, and the boy reached over to wipe the rest of it up with a napkin. Now that the floor looked the same as before she picked up her tray and stood up, brushing the nonexistent dirt off her black leggings.

Callistra looked back up at the boy, and he was standing in front of her, holding out a hand. "My name's Emmett. What's yours?"

"Callistra. Callistra McKornum." She took his hand and shook it. Callistra saw that the boy had wild and messy black hair with cerulean eyes she had noticed earlier, and his hand was smooth. That was quite unusual for a Neverseen member, since they trained in the outdoors often. Callistra's hand were calloused from years of climbing trees, actually more so than others since nobody else climbed as much as she did. Climbing... was her way of escaping. In her spare time she would run out as far as she could and climb the tallest tree she could see, hoping she would see past the infinite expansion of trees, but the forest seemed to go on forever.

She heard a throat being cleared and remembered she was still holding onto Emmett's hand. Callistra quickly pulled her hand out of his grasp and forced an awkward smile.

"So, uh, I should probably go sit with Arabella now. She might give me some food to share," Callistra half told herself, turning her head around towards the table her friend was sitting at. Arabella looked over at her, and her expression was saying, 'What are you doing? Come over here!' She nodded her head at her and turned back slowly, saying, "Yeah, she'll give me some of her lunch. But thanks for helping me clean-" She stopped mid-sentence because Emmett wasn't standing in front of her anymore. _What? He was here a second ago... I guess he went back to his table._ She looked around, but out of all the tables full of initiates, she couldn't spot Emmett's head of messy black hair anywhere. Callistra decided she would ask Arabella about it, since she knew everyone in the compound.

"Callistra? Hello?!" She whipped around to see Arabella waving at her, motioning for her to come over to the table.

"Oh. Be right there!" She picked up her water bottle and sped over to the table, sitting to the left of her friend. Arabella picked up her spoon and scooped up some of the 'protein' to put it in her mouth, but the flimsy plastic utensil bent and it fell back into the bowl. She frowned, and Callistra stifled a laugh.

Arabella made a face. "Haha, very funny. Laugh all you want, we were late today because you couldn't get today's training down."

"That was not it! I just... lost track of time." It wasn't a _total_ lie. She actually had kind of lost track of time, really. That was the idea. Arabella gave her a pointed look.

"What is with you, Callistra? You've been so out of it today, just spacing out for no reason," Arabella pressed.

"Um." Callistra noticed other initiates getting up to leave, probably going to their next training session. She didn't want to talk about the woods because she knew Arabella wouldn't understand, so she stuttered, "You know what, I think I have to go to my Conjuring class so see you later? Okay, bye!" She jumped up from the table and sprinted out the door, trying not to bump into other people. She didn't see Arabella's confused face or even notice that Emmett was standing out in the hallway talking with a certain green eyed girl wearing a mask.

* * *

 **A/N 2: Good? Bad? Really bad? Review and tell me what you think! Hehe now I know why authors love cliffhangers so much. They're so fun!**


	2. Author's note

**A/N: Ok, just so anyone knows, this is not an update. But still, please read my short rant.**

 **I really don't know how to say this, but my gut is just repeating that this story is trash, I shouldn't continue or have even started it. I have another, much better thought out story idea, and I was wondering if anyone would rather have me wait this one out, or delete it and start a new one. I'm really just NOT feeling this one, and I don't even have a plan, so... I just think this was a terrible idea that will probably be so terrible.**

 **I have a million excuses as to why I never made a second chapter, like how busy I was, or how much writers block I had, but none are true. I was just plain lazy and I couldn't get any ideas for what to do next. I will probably delete this and start anew, but first I want to hear from anyone who even cares, which is probably not a lot of people. And that's it so please tell me what to do, I'm begging you here!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks so much for all your support even though I only had, like, one chapter. You guys are literally the best. I'm sorry I kind of had the urge to abandon this story, I just don't ever feel like being proud of my work.**

 **This chapter probably sucks because I just wanted to get it out to you guys, but I'm going to be getting into the real plot later. Maybe around the time I actually establish an update schedule.**

 **KOTLC 1 Fan- *cries tears of joy* Thank you for all your praise on my stories! I probably will not update fast, but you might be able to change that ;). If you want to make it a collab then that would be great, as long as you don't mind spoilers for the entire plot.**

 **Guest- You do not know seriously how much that means to me, thank you! Unfortunately I do not have a Spotify account due to the fact that I have no idea what that is, so... hehe. Um.**

 **MysteriousMissF- Don't you worry at all! I will tell you who Emmett is in the next few chapters. You will find out soon... HAHAHA THAT'S FUNNY THAT I THINK I COULD EVER UPDATE SOON! Ahem. And I still don't know whether I will abandon this story, but I will try my best to stick to this idea.**

* * *

Callistra's POV

Conjuring class was so confusing (Yes, Callistra actually had a Conjuring class next, she wasn't just making an excuse for Arabella).

When she walked into the door of her Conjuring classroom, the trainer was the only one in there, because class hadn't started yet. Callistra pulled out her imparter and quickly typed a 'we'll talk later' to her contact 'Breezy'.

It was a nickname she had given Arabella when she manifested, but she didn't like it at all so the only place Callistra used it was her contacts.

Putting her imparter back in her satchel, she looked at the clock. It was seven more minutes until ability classes started, and probably three until more initiates would take there seats. So it was just her and the trainer writing on the board, not even turning around to acknowledge that his student had just walked into the room.

She made her way over to the desks at one end and looked around the room to pass the time.

At one side there was a table with large weights for conjuring and mats in case they fell. There were a couple notebooks and papers strewn about the tables with the weights, but they were probably there from the last time they'd used the table. This side of the room was huge, and mats the size of Callistra's bedroom were put

The other side where Callistra was sitting was where all the books and desks were, about ten of them. Currently the Neverseen was doing some crazy experiments with the power of Conjurers, and all the theories were documented with the information supposedly available for the class. But Callistra's trainer Larist wouldn't teach it yet, claiming it was too high level for the class.

A Conjurer's power was all about transporting objects through a parallel space and then back in a different location, and the 'training' they did during class didn't help with this at all. The Neverseen were just trying to figure out a way to weaponize the ability.

Not that it would work.

Callistra would never be able to do anything cool with her ability. Despite all her efforts, she was still average at just about everything, and it would probably always stay that way.

Her thoughts were abruptly stopped when more initiates filed into the classroom and talked as they took their seats. She was glad Arabella wasn't a Conjurer because she could put off their conversation for later, and she didn't have to see her during class.

When all the initiates were in their seats and it was time to begin, Trainer Larist stood up at the front and picked up a book.

"Your objective today is to learn to make a force-wave. This means to use the parallel space to create a burst of energy to take out your enemies." Whispers could be heard throughout the class and they sounded skeptical. "The burst of energy will come from snapping the void to the parallel space open longer than you need to, and it will leak energy. You can control that energy with telekinesis."

Trainer Larist stood and walked to the side board and turned on the projector, pushing a button to start a video.

The video started with some guy talking about how you have to concentrate on a single patch on air, then snap your fingers without thinking of an object and just using telekinesis to keep the air molecules in the same spot. He readily explained that it was only a theory, then steadied the recorder on the mat.

He started staring into space for a while until Callistra really thought nothing was going to happen, but then he snapped his fingers and a quiet glow appeared coming from the middle of the room. It slowly grew larger and brighter until suddenly at a width of about a yard, it just disappeared. The lens of the recorder cracked when the guy did some weird thing with his hands. The guy winced and jogged over to look at the lens, then the video shorted out.

Callistra looked around at the other initiates and there were lots of confused faces. The new information incited chatter from the young conjurers.

The Trainer cleared his throat, and when no one stopped talking he snapped, "Quiet! Thank you. Space yourselves out on the mat and I'll demonstrate the technique." When no one moved, he continued, "Get up, then!"

Initiates immediately jumped up and rushed over to the mats, spreading out from each other. Trainer Larist slowly backed up to the edge of a mat, staring nowhere in particular. A bead of sweat rolled off his forehead and his eyes turned glassy as his faraway look intensified. After ten more seconds, the air in the middle became distorted, and churning in a spiral pattern.

Callistra watched in awe as she absentmindedly scooted back from the glowing that appeared hovering above the ground. It looked cool in real life, but she didn't doubt the video explosion's power.

She saw how it had affected that guy's recorder screen, and there was no way she was getting close to that.

The light seemed to be staying at the same brightness for a bit, so she turned around to glance at the clock. It read 1:05. Callistra sighed. She hadn't been in class for more than ten minutes, and she was already diving into crazy techniques and skills.

And that was when the universe decided to add some explosions.

She felt a tingle on the back of her head and whipped around to see the glowing reaching the same size as the one in the video. Larist snapped, and a light so bright it made her squint erupted in an unseen burst of energy.

Callistra quickly took a step back bracing herself against the wave, and it threatened to push her down hard. Only Larist seemed to be faring well. The other students dug their feet into their mats.

But as soon as the wave had came, it went leaving no trace except for the looks on all the initiates faces. Trainer Larist continued on as if nothing had happened, saying something about arm movement and stance.

Callistra wasn't listening though. She was too focused on the fact that _Conjurers could make energy explode_! If they could use that in battle, the Neverseen could wipe out all the lost cities. The elite force might even kill with that ability!

Worries clouded her consciousness and she felt a bit dizzy for a second, but her mind cleared when the Trainer said, "Oh, and this'll take some time to learn, so we won't be using it for the next attack. For now, just focus on making your glow."

He waved everybody up and walked to the front of the room to help the first initiate. Once he went over, initiates started trying to practice the skill. At first it looked kind of weird when they were all standing there just looking around, but when a glow came from the other side of the room near a guy named Alec, the staring grew stronger as more initiates tried harder.

By the end of the class, only three people had gotten the glow. Callistra and the others just had watery eyes from not blinking for so long.

"I expect you all to practice this on your own time. I'll see you all next week." Trainer Larist went to his desk and sat down, just waving his hand to dismiss the class like he didn't even care.

Callistra grabbed her satchel off her desk and headed out the door quickly. She had another combat class after that one, and then another one on survival skills. Her schedule was jam-packed with training, and she didn't get free time until all her classes were finished. They really were preparing for an attack.

Thinking about the confusing new skill seemed like a logical thing to do once she got back to her living quarters, but she was still very curious about who Emmett was, so she went to find Arabella and ask her.

* * *

"No." Callistra's smile disappeared. After finding Arabella in the library studying up on triggering abilities, she had been hoping Arabella could tell her more about the mysterious boy she met in the cafeteria.

"Are you sure?" Callistra asked. "He could be a class above or below us."

"No, I'm very sure. I know absolutely everyone in this compound participating in initiation, and Emmett's not one of them. Besides, that doesn't sound like an elven name. Is that really what you heard?"

"Yeah." Callistra fidgeted in her seat across from Arabella. If Arabella didn't know him, he was probably new. Yeah, that was it. It was either that or Callistra was daydreaming about a cute boy bumping into her in the lunch room, which was not a possibility.

"Well, I can't help you there. But why were you avoiding me earlier?"

Callistra sighed. "I wasn't avoiding you, I was avoiding this conversation."

"Same thing."

"Look, I have my own reasons, and I've been thinking- "

"Oh, you've been thinking. Watch out everybody, Callistra's been thinking!" Callistra scowled at her and the librarian made a shushing noise while giving the both of them the stink eye.

Callistra's voice dropped back to a whisper. "I'm just not good at fighting, so... I've been thinking about being a double agent."

"What!?" Arabella shrieked, which earned her a big, _shhhhhhhhh_ from the librarian. That lady did not look happy.

"Quiet down!" Callistra whisper-yelled. "And even if I did, I'd have to get it past my dad, which would be near impossible."

"Well if it's impossible, then I don't think you should do it." Arabella crossed her arms.

Callistra raised an eyebrow at her. "You're trying to get a second ability, which is impossible."

Arabella protested, "That's way different!" Callistra just shook her head.

"I knew you wouldn't understand. I'm leaving. And don't come after me, because I'm going to my living quarters." She turned on her heel and walked away, relieved when Arabella stayed at the library table with her books.

Callistra would have to find another way to become a double agent without Arabella's help. And not to mention if she wanted to find Emmett, Arabella was her last opportunity that had just passed.

Hopefully she would randomly run into Emmett another time, or else she might die of curiosity. Of course not literally, but there were a lot of holes in her understanding of him. She decided to look later, because right then she had to have dinner with her dad.

 **A/N: I already have some of the third chapter written, so be on the lookout for it next time!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N Double Update! Because I can!  
**

* * *

Callistra's POV

Callistra was stuck. Not in a situation without any useful choices, but she was literally stuck in a tree, with no one to help her except a complete stranger who also happened to be out suspiciously late.

Dinner with her dad had been nothing special, and consisted of just her dad asking how training was, probably hoping she was into fighting all of a sudden- which she wasn't.

She was glad for the food because she hadn't had lunch, but it was awkward since they had nothing else to say. Callistra finally retreated to her room, and tried to drift off to sleep without thinking of the events of the day.

She had laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, but her mind began to wander to the boy she had bumped into during lunch. Emmett had seemed really suspicious, almost like he didn't belong there. He must have been a new recruit, but Callistra didn't remember him being introduced to the initiates? And he certainly hadn't been included in the meeting that morning for the attack they were planning on the Black Swan.

The attack was... well, it was supposed to be huge, and as soon as their technopaths traced the tracker they put on a member meant to be captured, they would have an all out attack and try to destroy the hideout. Callistra was supposed to use her new 'exploding conjuring' technique, but she hadn't been getting anywhere with that.

Her mind was swimming with thoughts and questions about Emmett and the attack being planned, so she obviously wasn't going to get any sleep that night. She stood from her bed, the old mattress creaking ever so slightly and climbed onto her dresser to access the vent.

It's not like she could go through the front door. It was too late and it would be suspicious, so she gently pried the cover off the wall, not needing any tools due to the fact that she used this exit a lot.

Whenever Callistra wanted to go outside into the forest and she knew she wouldn't be able to get clearance, she used the ventilation tunnels.

And there was no chance she would be getting lost. She knew the way by heart: It was two lefts, a right and a left, then keep going straight until you reach the exit.

In one quick hop Callistra wiggled into the tunnel then squirmed her way left, left, right, left, and then straight for a couple of minutes. She was really getting too big for this. The girl kept going then saw the rest of the tunnel being illuminated by moonlight and slowed so she wouldn't bump her head on the cover, pushing it out and hearing it land on the grass.

She pushed herself out and onto the grass, the exit being two feet above the ground. Callistra felt the cold a little, but most of it was blocked by her thick cloak.

She replaced the cover and sprinted out into the forest, stopping occasionally to check the nearby foliage and remember where she was. She knew the woods like the back of her hand, and Callistra did not want to be close to their base. As soon as Callistra was a ways away from the compound, she pulled off her cloak because it would snag on the tree branches and hoisted herself up onto the first branch of a nearby fir tree. It didn't seem very sturdy, but it looked tall enough.

She climbed up branch by branch, the sparse limbs of the tree not stopping her, and the rough bark not even affecting her. Leaves brushed past her face as she climbed higher, and upon reaching the halfway point up the tree she felt a chilly breeze rush past her, and she breathed in the fresh air. The freedom of being up so high was supposed to help her forget about her worries, that's what it usually did.

Callistra tried to focus on climbing the tree rather than the thoughts that bombarded her mind, but the images of battle plans looked over earlier that day invaded her thoughts, causing her to miss a tree branch.

She scrambled to find a foot hold while clinging onto the branch above her for dear life, because of course a fall would be painful. After much of moving her feet around her foot finally found a small branch to rest on, and her hands loosened, causing her to notice the throbbing pain in her left one. Callistra tried to remain still and catch her breath, but the pain became so unbearable that she released that hand's grip from the branch above her. Her hand felt a bit better, but the branch underneath her let out a deafening _crack._

As she shuffled to get closer to the trunk, she heard footsteps coming from below, stopping around the base of the tree. There was a pause, then a small thud as the person probably sat down against the tree. Callistra let out a small breath of air, glad that the person hadn't noticed her.

She proceeded to move closer to the trunk, but her weight was too much for the branch under her and it broke off, leaving none of the branch and her dangling from one arm from the branch above her.

Grabbing on with both hands and gritting her teeth, Callistra pulled herself on top of the noticeably smaller branch and scrambled closer to the tree. Just as she reached the trunk though, the branch cracked all the way and fell to the ground, the only part left being the thick part attached to the tree she was sitting on. She quickly stood and wrapped her arms around the tree, determined not to fall. But as soon as she had stabilized herself, she heard a grunt from down below.

"Ow! What the- oof!" a voice exclaimed from below Callistra's perch.

 _Whoops._ She had forgotten about the broken branches that had probably just landed on whoever was sitting on the forest floor below the tree. _Stupid flimsy branches._

"Is someone up there?" Callistra heard a rustle of leaves along with the shout and looked down to see the shadowed person standing up to look through the branches of the tree. She gripped tighter onto the trunk.

Callistra realized she couldn't deny it after accidentally dropping a branch on them, so she answered yelling down, "Yes, I'm up here."

"What are you doing out here this late?"

 _Think, Callistra, think. What to say? Oh!_ "You know, I might ask you that question as well."

She heard a chuckle from below, and an answer, "Touche. But what are you doing in a tree in the middle of the night?"

"Um. Enjoying the cool night air, I guess?" Yes, it was a lie, but she couldn't just spill to a random stranger about her personal life. Callistra didn't have any idea who this person could be or why they were even out there, so she kept the real reason to herself.

"You're stuck aren't you."

"No I'm not." She moved in her uncomfortable embrace of the tree.

"Do you need help getting down?"

"No."

"Okay then, I'll just leave..." Footsteps sounded away from the tree and Callistra knew they were fake, but she fell for it anyways.

"Wait! I need your help." She internally grimaced at the cliche situation she was in.

The voice answered back sarcastically, "I thought you weren't stuck."

"Well now I am, so can you help me or not?"

"Fine, I guess I can." Surprisingly there were no hints of annoyance in their voice. She dug her fingers in the bark and clung to the tree as they made their way up the branches, the rustle of leaves growing louder as the mystery person got closer.

Soon enough Callistra saw the shadow of a boy below her saying, "Ohhhh, that makes more sense."

"What? What is it?" She felt his eyes on her and she shifted in her stance.

"The nub you're standing on. You didn't mean to drop those branches on my head, because they broke from you standing on them."

Callistra felt herself relax and did a mock gasp in offense. "You thought I dropped a branch on you on purpose?"

His voice was unchanging as he said, "That is not what I meant and you know it."

"Then I'll forgive you for now, if you help me get out of this tree."

She heard a sigh and assumed he was rolling his eyes as he said, "Fiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnneeeeeee. Follow my directions. Try stepping down on your right-" she pulled her right foot off the stump "- no, your other right!"

The exclamation caused her to stumble a bit, and she retorted, "I only have one right foot!"

"Well then step down on your left!" Callistra sighed in frustration and placed her right foot back on the small nub, then put her left out in the air.

"What next?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm on a branch directly under your left side, but I'm not close enough. Sit on the branch you broke off and that will make the distance smaller."

Callistra let out a small breath, slowly lowering into a crouch with her left leg hanging down but still hanging onto the tree. "You're doing good, keep going."

She placed her hands on the branch barely noticing the fading pain in her left hand, but had begun to wobble when she released her death-grip on the tree. "I- I can't do this," Callistra stuttered, replacing her arms on the tree.

"Relax, you'll be fine. Just don't look down and hang on."

 _Easy for him to say, he's sitting pretty on the branch below me,_ she thought as she attempted to bring her hands off the tree and keep her balance. Once she had both hands on the branch she leaned into the tree so she wouldn't fall, not daring to move an inch more. "I think I'm stuck again."

"No you're not! Just turn to one side and jump."

"I am not going to jump off a high branch in a tall tree!" Callistra gasped. What if she fell?

"I can catch you, you know."

She huffed. "Like that's a more appealing idea!" Callistra curiously turned over to her left to look downwards, and the view of the ground so far down made her nauseous. She gladly turned her gaze to the boy below her when he sighed and began to speak.

"If I drop you- which I won't _-_ you can get mad at me all you like."

Callistra considered the idea. She still didn't feel like jumping, but being stuck in that tree for who knows how long might be a worse option than falling out. So she squared her shoulders and answered, "Fine. I'll do it."

The boy's posture noticeably relaxed, and he said, "Great. Just jump a little bit away from the tree and I'll be right here."

"Wait- what if your branch breaks?" If this option failed, she really would be stuck.

"It's a lower branch, so it's thicker. I can sit on it and we'll be fine."

"Okay..." Callistra turned to the side, facing the boy on the lower branch and pulling her right leg over. _If I die right now because this idiot doesn't catch me..._ She wouldn't finish the thought. She took a deep breath and pushed herself off.

The wind blew her short hair up as she closed her eyes while screaming her lungs out, but the fall only really lasted a second. In a flash something warm enveloped her, and the breath was knocked out of her as she realized he caught her. He caught her! She wasn't going to fall!

Callistra's eyes snapped open and she looked up at the face of her rescuer that was... Emmett?!

Her rescuer "Hey, I know you!" Callistra stayed silent with her mouth agape. "You're Callistra, right?

"Yeah," she mumbled as she pulled his arms from around her and moved to sit on the branch next to him, but she was more worried about the fact that she had never seen him around before and now he was wandering the woods at night. "Thanks for helping me out of that tree."

"No problem. So what are you doing out here?"

Callistra sighed, thinking there was no way out of answering this. "Will you tell me why you're out here too?" She was actually pretty curious why he was out there.

"Sure."

She folded her arms, trying to think of a well-crafted lie. "Well, you see, I came out here... because I couldn't sleep." She saw his skeptical face and replied, "It's true! I just have a lot on my mind, and climbing trees helps me to not think. Anyways, why am I telling you this?"

"Because you want to know why I'm out here. And I was going to say the same thing." Callistra raised an eyebrow. "Well not about the tree thing, but I couldn't sleep either."

"And?"

"And what?"

She crossed her arms. "There must be more to the story. I told you mine, you said a watered down version of what I said. Why can't you sleep?"

"Um. I don't want to tell you. I just met you!"

"Come on Emmett, I thought we bonded!"

They were both expressionless for a moment in an awkward silence. But then they both broke out into laughter, laughing so hard that they were kicking their feet around in the air. It was for absolutely no reason, and was so fun until Emmett almost fell backwards and Callistra had to pull him back onto the branch. They stayed silent for a couple seconds at most then burst into laughter a second time, only subsiding into small giggles.

"Why am I laughing so much?" Callistra squeaked out in between giggles.

"I don't know," Emmett wondered. He ran a hand through his dark hair, which of course only made it spike up more.

Callistra felt her eyes growing weary, and she started to slip in her position on the branch. If she could just close her eyes for a second, then maybe...

"Whoa there, you okay?" Callistra felt a steadying hand on her shoulder. She jolted awake, sitting up straight and stretching while yawning.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." She started to close her eyes again, but this time she snapped them open. Callistra didn't want to fall out of the tree after just being caught.

"You know what, we should do this another time. You look really tired."

Callistra mock gasped. "You want me to get stuck in a tree again?"

Emmett smiled. "Very funny. I mean we should talk again. Meet me out here tomorrow?"

"Definitely." She began to make her way down the tree by grabbing the branch below her, but Emmett stopped her.

"I think we should let me go down first so I can catch you if you fall. You look like you might fall asleep sitting up." Callistra nodded and moved so that he could climb down, and he dropped down branch by branch like a pro. She came soon after, and when she dropped to the ground, they parted ways.

The run back to the compound was short, or at least it seemed that way. By the time she got back to her room and in bed, she had completely forgotten that Emmett had run away from the training compound.

* * *

 **A/N: Review please!**


End file.
